Understanding Meroitic Pottery and Its Production – Research Design and Methodology of an Interdisciplinary Research Project

This paper describes a project investigating the archaeological remains of a pottery workshop and the associated ceramics at Musawwarat es-Sufra, an archaeological site of the Meroitic period (c. 300 BC–350 AD) in Sudan. It outlines the trajectory of a complex research approach, integrating archaeological, ceramological, archaeometric, ethnoarchaeological and geophysical components in order to make maximum use of the unique potential of the site. By discussing the setup and the trajectory of the project and how the results – expected and unexpected – of the individual components informed subsequent steps and the progress of the overall research strategy, the authors offer a contribution to the methodology of integrated research in the field of archaeological ceramic studies

Structural, elastic and thermal properties of cementite (Fe3_3C) calculated using Modified Embedded Atom Method

Structural, elastic and thermal properties of cementite (Fe$_3$C) were studied using a Modified Embedded Atom Method (MEAM) potential for iron-carbon (Fe-C) alloys. Previously developed Fe and C single element potentials were used to develop an Fe-C alloy MEAM potential, using a statistically-based optimization scheme to reproduce structural and elastic properties of cementite, the interstitial energies of C in bcc Fe as well as heat of formation of Fe-C alloys in L$_{12}$ and B$_1$ structures. The stability of cementite was investigated by molecular dynamics simulations at high temperatures. The nine single crystal elastic constants for cementite were obtained by computing total energies for strained cells. Polycrystalline elastic moduli for cementite were calculated from the single crystal elastic constants of cementite. The formation energies of (001), (010), and (100) surfaces of cementite were also calculated. The melting temperature and the variation of specific heat and volume with respect to temperature were investigated by performing a two-phase (solid/liquid) molecular dynamics simulation of cementite. The predictions of the potential are in good agreement with first-principles calculations and experiments.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure

Economic space: On the analysis and interpretation of pottery production and distribution

Ceramics are particularly well suited for investigating general patterns of the distribution of premodern products. Archaeometric methods, used to determine raw materials and production techniques, permit the identification of places of production. The work of the research group presented here pursues two objectives: (i) to investigate the usefulness of portable X-ray fluorescence equipment for the analysis of ceramics and (ii) to identify, interpret and study distribution areas of ceramic products in comparative prospective. The paper discusses key economic concepts, sets out the archaeometric methodology and presents initial results in the context of two examples

Geochronology of Type Santacrucian (Middle Tertiary) Land Mammal Age, Patagonia, Argentina

Mammal-bearing lacustrine and tuffaceous sediments from three localities of the Santa Cruz Formation, type fauna of the Santacrucian Land Mammal Age, in Patagonia, southern Argentina, are calibrated by radioisotope dating with the aid of magnetostratigraphy. The strata range from about 17.6 Ma to perhaps 16.0 Ma, and are thus of late-early Miocene age. The Santacrucian Land Mammal Age ranges from about 18.0 Ma to about 15.0 Ma

Brain regions essential for improved lexical access in an aged aphasic patient: a case report

BACKGROUND: The relationship between functional recovery after brain injury and concomitant neuroplastic changes is emphasized in recent research. In the present study we aimed to delineate brain regions essential for language performance in aphasia using functional magnetic resonance imaging and acquisition in a temporal sparse sampling procedure, which allows monitoring of overt verbal responses during scanning. CASE PRESENTATION: An 80-year old patient with chronic aphasia (2 years post-onset) was investigated before and after intensive language training using an overt picture naming task. Differential brain activation in the right inferior frontal gyrus for correct word retrieval and errors was found. Improved language performance following therapy was mirrored by increased fronto-thalamic activation while stability in more general measures of attention/concentration and working memory was assured. Three healthy age-matched control subjects did not show behavioral changes or increased activation when tested repeatedly within the same 2-week time interval. CONCLUSION: The results bear significance in that the changes in brain activation reported can unequivocally be attributed to the short-term training program and a language domain-specific plasticity process. Moreover, it further challenges the claim of a limited recovery potential in chronic aphasia, even at very old age. Delineation of brain regions essential for performance on a single case basis might have major implications for treatment using transcranial magnetic stimulation

Transcranial Low-Level Laser Therapy Improves Neurological Performance in Traumatic Brain Injury in Mice: Effect of Treatment Repetition Regimen

Low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) has been clinically applied around the world for a spectrum of disorders requiring healing, regeneration and prevention of tissue death. One area that is attracting growing interest in this scope is the use of transcranial LLLT to treat stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI). We developed a mouse model of severe TBI induced by controlled cortical impact and explored the effect of different treatment schedules. Adult male BALB/c mice were divided into 3 broad groups (a) sham-TBI sham-treatment, (b) real-TBI sham-treatment, and (c) real-TBI active-treatment. Mice received active-treatment (transcranial LLLT by continuous wave 810 nm laser, 25 mW/cm[superscript 2], 18 J/cm[superscript 2], spot diameter 1 cm) while sham-treatment was immobilization only, delivered either as a single treatment at 4 hours post TBI, as 3 daily treatments commencing at 4 hours post TBI or as 14 daily treatments. Mice were sacrificed at 0, 4, 7, 14 and 28 days post-TBI for histology or histomorphometry, and injected with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) at days 21–27 to allow identification of proliferating cells. Mice with severe TBI treated with 1-laser Tx (and to a greater extent 3-laser Tx) had significant improvements in neurological severity score (NSS), and wire-grip and motion test (WGMT). However 14-laser Tx provided no benefit over TBI-sham control. Mice receiving 1- and 3-laser Tx had smaller lesion size at 28-days (although the size increased over 4 weeks in all TBI-groups) and less Fluoro-Jade staining for degenerating neurons (at 14 days) than in TBI control and 14-laser Tx groups. There were more BrdU-positive cells in the lesion in 1- and 3-laser groups suggesting LLLT may increase neurogenesis. Transcranial NIR laser may provide benefit in cases of acute TBI provided the optimum treatment regimen is employed.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01AI050875)Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (DAMD17-02-2-0006)United States. Dept. of Defense. Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (W81XWH-09-1-0514)United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Military Photomedicine Program (FA9550-11-1-0331

Perspectives on Continental Rifting Processes From Spatiotemporal Patterns of Faulting and Magmatism in the Rio Grande Rift, USA

Analysis of spatiotemporal patterns of faulting and magmatism in the Rio Grande rift (RGR) in New Mexico and Colorado, USA, yields insights into continental rift processes, extension accommodation mechanisms, and rift evolution models. We combine new apatite (U‐Th‐Sm)/He and zircon (U‐Th)/He thermochronometric data with previously published thermochronometric data to assess the timing of fault initiation, magnitudes of fault exhumation, and growth and linkage patterns of rift faults. Thermal history modeling of these data reveals contemporaneous rift initiation at ca. 25 Ma in both the northern and southern RGR with continued fault initiation, growth, and linkage progressing from ca. 25 to ca. 15 Ma. The central RGR, however, shows no evidence of Cenozoic fault‐related exhumation as observed with thermochronometry and instead reveals extension accommodated through Late Cenozoic magmatic injection. Furthermore, faulting in the northern and southern RGR occurs along an approximately north‐south strike, whereas magmatism in the central RGR occurs along the northeast to southwest trending Jemez lineament. Differences in deformation orientation and rift accommodation along strike appear to be related to crustal and lithospheric properties, suggesting that rift structure and geometry are at least partly controlled by inherited lithospheric‐scale architecture. We propose an evolutionary model for the RGR that involves initiation of fault‐accommodated extension by oblique strain followed by block rotation of the Colorado Plateau, where extension in the RGR is accommodated by faulting (southern and northern RGR) and magmatism (central RGR). This study highlights different processes related to initiation, geometry, extension accommodation, and overall development of continental rifts.Plain Language SummaryWe identify patterns of faulting and volcanism in the Rio Grande rift (RGR) in the western United States to better understand how continental rifts evolve. Using methods for documenting rock cooling ages (thermochronology), we determined that rifting began around 25 million years ago (Ma) in both the northern and southern RGR. Rift faults continued to develop and grow for another 10 to 15 million years. The central RGR, however, shows that rift extension occurred through volcanic activity both as eruptions at the surface and as magma injection below the surface since ~15 Ma. Interestingly, RGR faulting in the north and south parts of the rift occurs on a north‐south line, while volcanism in the central RGR is along a northeast to southwest line. The differences in the location and orientation of faulting and volcanic activity may be related to the thickness of the lithosphere beneath different parts of the rift. Using these patterns of faulting and magmatism, we propose the RGR evolved through a combination of (1) oblique strain—extension diagonal to the rift and (2) block rotation—where the Colorado Plateau is the rotating block. This detailed study highlights different processes related to the accommodation of extension and the overall development of continental rifts.Key PointsInitiation of the Rio Grande rift appears to be synchronous ~25 Ma and does not support a northward propagation modelExtension is accommodated by faulting in the northern and southern Rio Grande rift and by magmatic injection in the central Rio Grande riftDifferent rift accommodation mechanisms may be controlled by preexisting weaknesses and lithospheric properties (i.e., thickness)Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152704/1/tect21226.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152704/2/wrcr21226-sup-00001-2019TC005635-SI.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152704/3/tect21226_am.pd

Thermal history of the central Gotthard and Aar massifs, European Alps: Evidence for steady state, long-term exhumation

International audienceQuantifying long-term exhumation rates is a prerequisite for understanding the geodynamic evolution of orogens and their exogenic and endogenic driving forces. Here we reconstruct the exhumation history of the central Aar and Gotthard external crystalline massifs in the European Alps using apatite and zircon fission track and apatite (U-Th)/He data. Age-elevation relationships and time-temperature paths derived from thermal history modeling are interpreted to reflect nearly constant exhumation of ∼0.5 km/Ma since ∼14 Ma. A slightly accelerated rate (∼0.7 km/Ma) occurred from 16 to 14 Ma and again from 10 to 7 Ma. Faster exhumation between 16 and 14 Ma is most likely linked to indentation of the Adriatic wedge and related thrusting along the Alpine sole thrust, which, in turn, caused uplift and exhumation in the external crystalline massifs. The data suggest nearly steady, moderate exhumation rates since ∼14 Ma, regardless of major exogenic and endogenic forces such as a change to wetter climate conditions around 5 Ma or orogen-perpendicular extension initiated in Pliocene times. Recent uplift and denudation rates, interpreted to be the result of climate fluctuations and associated increase in erosional efficiency, are nearly twice this ∼0.5 km/Ma paleoexhumation rate